Puppy Love
by Lamanth
Summary: ONE SHOT – As the saying goes brunettes tease but blondes please – or sometimes they just drive those around them insane. Tala/OC, Kai/OC, Salima/OC


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters, merchandise, TV rights, ect… (I think you get the point.) Nor do I own the song 'Lonely Pup' by Adam Faith, and as is so often the case with my fics all OC's belong to themselves.

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Summery 

ONE SHOT – As the saying goes brunettes tease but blondes please – or sometimes they just drive those around them insane. (Tala/OC) (Kai/OC) (Salima/OC)

Like all of my work this is just something that happened to float through the empty void inside my head. Like it or hate it please R and R as honest opinions are always welcomed, as are random acts of worship.

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Lamb: Well this is not my normal type of fic but I still love it none the less. Almost as much as I love my Nix and Squish.

**Muse:** As always all credit for the ideas should go to me! I am the muse after all.

_Dedi:_ I thought Squish had you until after Lamb's holiday?

**Muse:** Yeah, but she let me out to do this.

_Dedi:_ Oh, alright then. This fic is dedicated to **shadowphoenix101** and **Iluvbeyblade** for reasons too numerous to name. So **shadowphoenix101** and **Iluvbeyblade** this is for you both.

Lamb: As always sorry for any bad spelling and if you feel the need to throw things at me please wait until I've hidden behind the sofa kay!?

M**use: **On with the fic!

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_Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer,  
Do you know you're unlike any other?  
You'll always be my thunder, and I said,  
Your eyes are the brightest of all the colours,  
I don't wanna ever love another,  
You'll always be my thunder,  
So bring on the rain and bring on the thunder,

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_

**Puppy Love**

It was strange how it had happened, really, Tala thought, as he watched the two blondes not so much walk as gallop down the high street ahead of him, Kai walking at his side.

Phoenix and Lolly. Lolly and Phoenix. Dressed as they were, both in dark blue jeans and white long sleeved tops with black strap tops over them they could almost have passed as twins, never mind sisters.

Fact of the matter was, they weren't related in any way and had only met face to face two years before. But as he watched them laughing and racing from window to window, the ridiculous ponytails they had insisted on wearing their hair in swinging from side to side, it was easy to see just how close they were.

Arm in arm they gazed into brightly lit shops decked out with so many Christmas decorations that their shine made looking at them almost painful. Kai had his hands thrust deep into the pockets of his leather jacket clearly not happy about being _dragged_, as he called it, out to do last minute shopping on Christmas Eve.

Tala knew full well that it was the crimson eyed Russian's possessive streak that was causing Kai's current bad mood, the guy always wanted to be first in Lolly's thoughts but the girl was too free-willed to follow him around like a puppy. It was a good thing, in his opinion, the last thing that Kai needed was a girl who would be content to become a shadow of the great blader. Though having said that, with Lolly … Tala bent his head so that his smile would be hidden, the two of them always seemed to be fighting and then making up just to fight all over again.

Peals of laughter sounded from the dynamic duo prancing down the pavement, and Tala looked up in time to see Phoenix flashing a smile in his direction. Even over the distance that stood between them he could see the light glimmering in her bright green eyes and felt a warmth form in his stomach - then cursed himself for being so sentimental.

But at times like this he just couldn't help it, watching her smile and seeing the delight pass over her face, it just caused something in his gut to lurch as the love her felt for her was renewed. He got protective whenever someone started showing just that little bit too much interest in her but he never felt the uncontrollable jealousy that seemed to have Kai permanently on edge. And he knew it was because he knew he had no reason to worry that Phoenix would go off with someone else. He was hers and she was his, as simple as that.

Kai and Lolly had been seeing each other casually for almost three years before his Phoenix had come into the picture. This translated as whenever a tournament had Kai in the area the two of them would inevitably hook up, and hardly be seen at all. A fact which irked Tala as he enjoyed the didactic blue eyed females company too, just not in the same way his long time friend did. Their relationship, for want of a better word, was confusing to say the least. Watching from the outside he was in a perfect position to see what was really going on and the main problem was that neither Kai nor Lolly was willing to make the first move and turn their fling into something more.

_Soft brown eyes that seem to say, _

_Stop a while, I want to play, _

_Would you, could you, do please stop, _

_He's a lonely pup in a Christmas shop,_

Tala always had mixed feelings every time the world of blading took them anywhere in the vicinity of the moody Brit. He liked spending time with her, counting her as a good friend. Kai's mood was always lighter when they were heading towards her and when they were together he was almost playful. But when the time came, as it always did, to leave, his captain's mood would plummet to rock bottom and training would become, if possible, even more intense. Kai would snap at anyone for any reason or even no reason, while he silently turned in on himself.

Only his deep respect for Kai and the friendship they shared had kept Tala from pointing out just what was wrong with him. He was lovesick, end of story.

Phoenix it had seemed was uninhibited by such things and it had been around this time that she had quite literally turned up on her friend's doorstep. They had met by chance on a web site where they both posted short stories, poems or whatever and a friendship had quickly developed between them. Sharing many interests as well as having both experienced similar problems in their lives, closeness formed between them that distance could not override. For while Lolly lived in England, Phoenix was on the opposite side of the world in New Zealand.

That was right up until the point when at nineteen Phoenix left home for good and simply got on a plane with one suitcase and the address of a girl she had never seen. The way that they told it there had been a moment of shocked silence while Lolly tried to take in who it was she had opened the door before she had leapt on her friend with a cry of _Nix!_ and pulled her into a tight hug. The two hadn't really looked back since that day. At nineteen they had moved into a small rented flat, not in England but across the "pond" in America, thus putting them a lot closer to the main base of the Blitzkreig Boys.

Also effectively putting the source of Kai's frustration closer at hand, and metaphorically dropping Phoenix in Tala's lap.

It hadn't been love at first sight, he didn't believe that it existed, but there was that instant surge of electricity that shot down his spine. As soon as Kai heard about Lolly's move he had insisted on going to find her and had dragged Tala along with him.

It had been raining, he remembered, the slow steady drizzle that soaked you to the skin. They had buzzed the flat with the legend _Mad Blondes_ beside it and had been let in through the door without even being asked who they were. They passed doors with peeling paint until they reached, number 17 which had been freshly painted in vivid purple a sure sign they were in the right place.

_Thank you lady, thank you sir, _

_Is there someone else that you'd prefer, _

_He's not selfish, just a flop, _

_Though he wags his tail in a Christmas shop,_

Tala would never forget how she looked when she opened the door to them that first time. Old scruffy jeans and strappy top, her bright blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail to keep it off her face. And covered in paint. Light blue and lilac freckles covered her skin and a large white streak was spread across her right cheek. She had hardly had time to say "Hi," before there was a yelp from behind her. Kai had been through the door like a shot, and Phoenix's emerald eyes had brimmed with laughter at the sight of her friend being picked up bodily and removed to a room with lockable doors.

Everything had just seemed so easy with her; they had talked at first about the situation involving their respective friends but soon had moved on to other topics. Happily they chatted away about anything and everything and Tala had found himself talking far more freely then he had with anyone before. When the absent couple re-emerged, he and Phoenix had been painting the front room, and he had laughed when the green eyed blonde had thrown her paint covered brush at her friend, scoring a direct hit on her chest and told her that if she thought she was getting help painting her room any more, she could forget it!

But in the end Phoenix had relented and all four of them had pitched in. At the time, Tala had thought how strange it was that they all felt comfortable together so quickly. Later he would come to understand that this was the gift the Kiwi possessed. He knew that his relaxed mood was partly down to the attraction he felt towards her but partly because everyone else was so laidback, which was down to a domino effect that lead right back to Phoenix. She and Lolly just clicked, and the end result was that the later was far happier within herself, and a more contented Lolly meant a more peaceful Kai. Pizza was sent out for as the group of them continued their labours well into the early hours of the morning.

Around half three in the morning a giggling Phoenix had pulled him into the kitchen, while their friends said a very passionate, non vocal goodbye. Tala could hardly believe that they had really only know each other for a handful of hours, the four of them fit so well together as a group, but he also felt that he and the alluring girl he stood with fitted in a way he couldn't describe. It had been that gut feeling that had led him into their first kiss. Never before had he kissed a girl after only knowing her a few hours, unless it was a casual screw of no consequence.

Even at that early stage he had known there was nothing casual about Phoenix.

_Mister Santa, if you would,_

_Send him someone, oh so good, _

_Someone who will take him home, _

_For ev'ryone to see,_

He had stepped closer to her and her giggles had trailed off, though the smile never left her face, and ended on a gurgle in the back of her throat that he had found so very cute. Gently Tala had tilted her head back, at 5' 8" she was a good head shorter then his 6' 4". The light danced and flashed in her happy eyes, their colour the vivid green of fresh spring leaves, here and there flecked with gold.

Lightly but without hesitation he pressed his lips to hers. She didn't pull away but simply stood accepting his attentions. Drawing back Tala looked deeply into her eyes, searching her face for any trace of doubt. All there was was that same soft smile as she wound her arms around his neck and placed her mouth on his.

Every detail of that first encounter indelibly engraved itself on Tala's mind. Her sweet, fresh taste, like some rare exotic fruit that left his mouth watering and the rest of him starving for more. Her hair, bright gold with streaks of copper and bronze, running soft as silk through his fingers until he reach the paint-smeared strands that grated roughly, sending a shiver down his spine. His whole body seemed to be in tuned to her, it felt as if she was melting, flowing into him and it was impossible to tell where he ended and she began. Everywhere she touched him he felt his skin sizzle. Never before in his life had he realised just how sensitive his flesh was. It seemed that he couldn't get enough of her.

Quickly their relationship had developed and with due prodding Kai and Lolly had finally grudgingly admitted that their casual fling wasn't enough any more.

So the four of them had turned into two couples. But still, the group dynamic had remained and if anything, Phoenix and Lolly grew closer, consoling each other when Kai and Tala, along with the rest of the team were off competing on the competition circuit.

Things had carried on this way for the best part of nine months until Kai, enthusiastically backed up by Tala, had said that enough was enough. He could understand them wanting to make it on their own, but he'd be damned if he was just going to sit back and watch them struggle to pay the crazily high rent on a dingy, damp flat where they were lucky if the heating worked two days a week.

He had said that there was easily room for them in the house that he and Tala shared and they could come that day if they wanted. The two girls had looked at each other and had a hurriedly whispered conversation. Phoenix had said yes, they would come, but that they would share the third bedroom to save either Tala of Kai having to give up theirs.

This momentarily stunned both Russians who had been assuming that the third spare bedroom would remain just that - spare. Then Lolly reached out and gave her friend's hand an affectionate squeeze. Her blue eyes, the light in them dancing wickedly, fixed on the two men as she explained that she and her Nix had no problem sharing a bed, they did it so often after all.

Kai's face had drained of colour and he had looked as if he had just been punched in the stomach. Incredulously Tala looked from slyly smirking blonde to slyly smirking blonde. While both he and Kai were aware of the sexual proclivities of the two girls they had never thought for a moment that either of them were being unfaithful let alone sleeping with each other. And then the laughter came from the girls, great rolling waves of it that filled that air. The pair howled until tears ran down their checks, and with it came the dawning realisation of Kai and Tala that their girlfriends' little revelation had been a simple windup. Tala sighed and rolled his eyes, while Kai contented himself with groaning and banging his head on the table, resigned to the fact that they had been taken in by the dynamic duo yet again.

_Christmas time, a Christmas tree, _

_With a happy family,_

_Pity him, he's got no Pop, _

_He's a lonely pup in a Christmas shop,_

Sounds of clucking and cooing called Tala from his musings and he quickly looked up to see the two girls standing in front of a shop he knew only too well, their faces pressed up against the glass like a pair of kids. He turned to Kai, who was also looking at the blondes, the expression of his face loudly screaming, _oh no they don't!_

Hastily quickening their pace, the pair of Russians swiftly covered the ground until they reached the place where the two girls were crouching down. Like small children they were pressing their faces to the cold glass, fingers tapping on the window much to the delight of the small black and grey puppy who had caught their attention. It wasn't so much wagging is tail, more like its entire back end, wiggling as if it was dancing the Conga.

"Don't even-" But Kai's words were cut off as Lolly leapt to her feet an, pulling Phoenix with her, dived through the shop door. Inwardly groaning, the boys quickly followed in the wake of the blonde pair into the shop's warm interior, noting the gentle tinkling of the bell that hung over the door in the backs of their minds. Both girls were too preoccupied in leaning over the puppy's pen, trying to let it lick their fingers to spot the mistletoe that also hung over the doorway, much to the relief of Tala and Kai, who quickly moved further into the shop.

For a moment or two nothing happened and then from a back room, the door of which was behind the counter, a voluptuous redhead appeared. A smile spread over her heart shape face as she recognized who had entered the shop and she absently pushed disheveled scarlet strands of hair out of her silver eyes. Before anyone could responded to her greeting the door to the back room opened once more and a petite platinum blonde with blue eyes entered. Her hair too was somewhat muzzy, a fact that didn't go unnoticed. Four pairs of eyes looked from Salima to the younger girl and back again.

Jellybean or Squishy as Phoenix and Lolly respectively called the other blonde flushed red, grinned shyly, and quickly readjusted her top before turning her attention to her two friends.

Salima Kelson, occasional beyblader, had been helping out in her parents' pet shop almost since she had been able to walk and had managed to persuade her parents that letting her girlfriend have a part time job there would also be a good idea. However, it was common knowledge to her two friends that Jellybean spent more time in the back room snuggling with the part Irish redhead than on the shop floor, or, they teased her, was it that she spent more time on the shop floor than working?

_Mister Santa, if you would,_

_Send him someone, oh so good, _

_Someone who will take him home, _

_For ev'ryone to see,_

As if sensing that one of the other blondes was about to imply just what had been going on in the back room, the younger girl walked across to where the pair stood by the still madly wiggling puppy. She hugged them by way of greeting – her head tucking under each of theirs without needing to bend - then crouched down to let the dog lick her fingers through the bars of the pen and told them he was a Springier Spaniel cross, reeling off his finer attributes and how adorable he was, wasn't he just the cutest? The perfect pet!

Tala looked on resignedly at the display, while Salima placed a consoling arm on Kai's shoulder. She knew perfectly well that the blonde trio were plotting so that when Kai and Tala left they would be plus one puppy, and the sour look on Kai's face was saying there was no way in _hell_. Salima sighed and shook her head as Tala walked over to the girls and reached down to pull Phoenix to her feet. His look said there was going to be no messing around, and the silver-eyed female was prepared to bet that there would be tears and tantrums before bedtime.

Her prediction came true almost immediately. Taking one look at the redheaded Russian's face, Phoenix let tears fill her eyes, and Salima watched in a kind of awe as they rolled in streams over her creamy skin. They seemed to rise up from pools, the depths of which were unknown to man – but well known to woman - falling without end until Tala had to turn his back on the sight. He knew full well that they were only crocodile tears, but the sight of the love of his life in such a state was more than he could bare to see. The stunning green eyed blonde wrapped herself around him, her eyes begging and pleas falling from her lips. It was ridiculous, Tala felt, that he one of the best bladers in the world, he who feared nothing and backed down to no one, could be manipulated so easily by one girl.

"Not a chance in hell," Kai hissed as he stood almost nose to nose with Lolly. The Brit. stood with her legs braced and her chin jutting out, matching the slate haired male's glare with her own. Discreetly, Jellybean sidled over to where her lover was standing, trying to suppress her giggles as she watched the pair square off. In a low undertone Kai continued to state that there was no way that Lolly was going to get her own way this time, while the girl in question stood before him undaunted, her hands clenched at her sides.

Given a little longer, and looking back Phoenix thought Tala would have given in, but the moment was lost when his attention was diverted at the sight of Lolly's balled fist connecting with Kai's head. Turning on her heel, the girl marched out into the street, her head held high leaving the shops reaming occupants in stunned silence. The look on Kai's face dared anyone to laugh at what had just taken place, but Salima could not help blurting out that, well, if his tastes ran towards the Amazonian then what did he expect? The resulting glare could have killed at twenty paces, and he too stormed out of the door.

Tala wrapped an arm around the still bemused and tearstained Phoenix, reassuring her that while there had been some force behind the blow, which he put down to the years that Lolly had spent mucking out horses, it hadn't been accurate and the only thing that was really hurt was Kai's pride. Phoenix felt sure that to Kai that was a pretty bad wound, but said nothing as she was still intent on persuading her redhead lover that the small puppy was the perfect Christmas present for herself and Lolly. However, as if sensing what she was about to ask, the Russian gave her a shake of his head before leaving her alone in the shop with Salima and Jellybean.

Never before in her life had Phoenix felt more like stamping her foot in frustration, stupid though she knew the action to be. Sighing, she leant down to give the small puppy one last scratch behind its floppy ears, before wishing her two friends a Merry Christmas - something the others had all failed to do and Tala at least should have remembered. With a farewell hug to each girl – disengaging the ever-clingy Jellybean with difficulty - she followed in the wake of her housemates.

_Christmas time, a Christmas tree, _

_With a happy family,_

_Pity him, he's got no Pop, _

_He's a lonely pup in a Christmas shop,_

The ride home was conducted in frosty silence, an irritated Kai behind the wheel with Tala riding shotgun. The former was still fuming and periodically reached up and placed his fingers to the red place where his girlfriend's fist had struck. Every time he did this he would scowl, rev. the engine more than he need to in temper and push down harder on the accelerator. Whenever this happened Tala would look up and try to catch Phoenix's bemused eyes in the rear-view mirror, but when he did, she would turn away with blank eyes, pretending not to have seen.

Things did not improve when they reached home, for no sooner were they through the front door than the two girls were up the stairs and barricaded into the third bedroom, the one that, so long ago, they had joked about sharing. That had been at 7:30 and when Tala walked passed some two hours later he heard the familiar sounds of Johnny Depp at his Captain Jack best, and guessed that the pair were indulging in a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' marathon to soothe their hurt feelings. Shortly after this Lolly came down to the kitchen to grab a family-sized tub of ice-cream and two spoons before returning to her friend without so much as a glance at Kai or Tala.

At close to midnight Tala climbed that stairs to the second floor to find Kai leaning on the door frame of the spare room, his back to his friend. Coming up to where his captain stood the redhead moved so that he too could look into the dimly light room. The two girls lay curled up together on the double bed, the duvet scrunched up under them from where that had fallen asleep watching their DVD. It was a ridiculously cute sight as both had changed into pyjamas which he had never seen before on either of them. Phoenix's were pale blue with a polar bear design on them, while Lolly sported a cream pair with a snowflake motif.

Absently Tala wondered if this was how the girls look on the long nights when he and Kai were off competing in various tournaments. He knew that they would often fall asleep in the spare room some DVD or other playing in the background for Lolly had told him so.

It had been at a time when Phoenix had been in bed with a bad cold that had left her feverish, achy and wanting to do nothing but sleep and Kai had been out for some reason that he could not now recall. And so the two of them had stayed up chatting in a way they hadn't for so long, every half hour or so popping in to check on the progress of Phoenix.

He had said she looked so small and alone in the bed on her own, and hated the thought of her being like that when he was gone. At which point Lolly had blurted out they when he and Kai were gone they shared the third room, a light blush had coloured her cheeks which in itself was almost unheard of. In a low bashful voice she had explained that it just didn't feel right sleeping in their normal beds on their own. He had nodded; Phoenix had once told him that she felt lonely in bed when he wasn't there. Then he had smiled slyly at Lolly and asked if that meant she missed Kai too? The blonde had thrown a cushion at him and said if he ever told that to Kai she would make sure that he, Tala, would never father children.

Chuckling softly, he had bid her goodnight after first promising that he would take her secret to the grave. In the semi darkness of the bedroom he had padded around quietly, stripping himself of his clothing as swiftly as possible before slipping in beside his drowsing lover. Though she was still wrapped deep in the embrace of sleep, almost immediately she had turned into him, burying her head in his chest and winding her arms around him. He had smiled into her hair and pulled her closely to him, delighting in the fact that she was his and that even in sleep she wanted him.

"They've beaten us haven't they?" The sound of Kai's voice broke off Tala's line of thought and with some effort her tore his eyes from his sleeping girlfriend and looked at his friend.

"They always do." His tone was resigned but there was also just a hint of amusement and he smiled as he watched Kai shake his head while reaching for his mobile phone. In spite of the lateness of the hour the phone only rang three times before a cheerful voice answered.

"Hey, Jelly … I can't believe I'm going to say this, but you know that puppy…?" Kai's voice trailed off as the sound of the blonde's laughter came loud and clear over the wire.

"What did Salima do to you?"

"You don't wanna know that," the girl said with an evil giggle.

"Whatever it is, I wish she hadn't."

"Charming, aren't you? Anyway, so, puppy?" She burst into hysterical giggles again. Kai gritted his teeth.

"What the hell is so funny?"

"They've beaten you!"

Kai's temper boiled to the surface.

"Tala already told me that, you stupid midget!" _And I hate being proved wrong once, let alone twice …_

"Ok, ok, don't blow a blood vessel, Lolly'd murder me. You were saying, puppy?"

_Sanity!_

"Yes."

-------

Commotion from the floor below penetrated Phoenix's sleep-addled mind. Tossing her hair back from her face she pushed herself onto her elbows, listening to the muffled voices. She could tell that it was Tala and Kai, not that she had thought it would be anyone else, but couldn't make out what they were saying. Gently at first but then with growing force she shook Lolly, trying to rouse her, but when all her efforts produced was a request for her to pass the lid of the tomato ketchup, she gave up and jabbed her elbow into the sleeping girl's ribs.

With an unintelligible exclamation Lolly sat bolt upright, her hair falling crazily over her face and giving her more than a passing resemblance to cousin It from The Adams Family. Before she could do something stupid, like falling off the bed, that would alert the two males below to the fact they were awake, Phoenix grabbed her arm and motioned for her to listen. After a moment or two, when neither girl could make out what was being said, they slipped quietly from the bed and from the room.

Pausing on the landing they strained to hear what the Russian pair were talking about but it was still impossible and when they edged closer to the stairs one of the floorboards creaked loudly and the voices stopped instantly. Giving up trying to keep the approach secret as a bad job, the pair made their way down the staircase and into the deserted hall. Firstly they checked the kitchen, which was normally where they congregated first thing in the morning, as they saw no reason why Christmas should be the exception, but there was neither sight nor sound of either Kai or Tala.

While there were three rooms on the first floor the layout was such that you had to go through the living room to get into what was optimistically called the dinning room. Pushing open the door to said living room the first thing that caught the attention of two girls was the brightly light tree decked out in all its shining glory, a small mound of presents clustered around it. The second was the small black and grey puppy that came bounding enthusiastically across the room to greet them.

Instantly Phoenix was on her knees and the puppy began to try and climb into her lap and give her face, hands and stray strands of hair a good wash. Crouching down by her friend, Lolly stared in fascination at the small wiggling creature with huge soft brown eyes. So absorbed with the bouncing puppy were they that they failed to notice Tala and Kai walk in from where they had been hiding in the dining room until the pair were standing over them, shadows darkening their view of their new love.

"What are you going to call him?" Tala asked smiling down at the duo and their new canine companion. Dancing green eyes met dazzling blue, as minds ran along parallel lines and they giggled mischievously.

"Johnny," they announced in unison as the newly christened puppy tried to lick them both simultaneously.

"You are not calling him after that stupid Scottish prick." Kai hissed, his eyes darkening with temper as he glared down the pair of them.

"No, of course we're not," Phoenix said, picking up the fur-ball that wiggled uncontrollably in delight at the attention, almost causing her to drop him. Regretfully, she put him down, where he chased his tail in circles a few times before lying down with a thump, the picture of contended exhaustion.

Phoenix walked over to Tala and kissed him lightly on the mouth before snuggling into his chest. Tala wrinkled his nose at the smell of dog and sighed. He was going to have to get used to it.

"Really Kai, we're not," Lolly sighed, also getting to her feet. Kai looked unimpressed by her reassurance but relaxed as she slipped her arms round his waist from where she stood behind him and rested her head on his shoulder. "We're calling him after Johnny Depp."

* * *

Lamb: Johnny Depp! King Hot of all the Hotties!

**Muse:** You are so mental, it's not even funny any more.

_Dedi:_ Well just a bit funny. But **shadowphoenix101** and **Iluvbeyblade** we hope you both liked it.

Please R and R I'd love to know what you thought.

Big luv see ya

Lamanth


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